Mangalore, June 26: Wary of a guerrilla a attack on police stations in naxal affected in Malnad and coastal areas, the police Department has initiated a move to fortify the stations on Andhra Pradesh model.

The Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation Ltd. Has started the process for 14 stations in Chikmagalur, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts at an estimated cost of Rs 8 lakh each, Inspector-General of Police (Western Range) H N Sathyanarayana Rao told here on Saturday.

Eight police stations in Chikmagalur, four in Udupi and two in Dakshina Kannada would be fortified.

While some police stations are directly involved in the on going operation against the naxalites, other stations are located in places where the naxals wielded some influence, Rao said.

The personnel in these 14 stations were trained to deal with naxal attacks. The move to fortify was to provide added protection during the attacks. The police were making every effort to step up the intelligence gathering to pro-empt such a possibility. But, this was rendered difficult since villagers in naxal affected areas were not coming out with details, he said.

Terming the recent killing of an agriculturist –cum –grocer at Gandaghatta under Sringeri Police station limits as a mistaken identity, Rao asserted that the department took due care to protect the identity of any person who provided information on anti-social elements.

On possible emerging law and order threats in Western Range comprising Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Chikmagalur, Rao said the range as a whole was susceptible to terrorist attack.

While the police are dealing with the naxals, attention needs to be paid to smuggling of arms through the porous coastal borders.

Police should be vigilant about the communal situation there, he added.